Lasagne al Forno
Lasagne al Forno
Mamta Gupta
Lasagne is an Italian dish, made with layers of pasta sheets, Ragu Meat sauce and Bechamel white sauce. So you have to make both the sauces first, before you can assemble it. If in a hurry, you can use ready made Ragu sauce, but fresh is best. Here is my simple version of it. These days, I use the pasta sheets that do not require pre-boiling and can be used straight from the packet. You can make your own pasta if you wish, but I don?t. I always make the Bechamel sauce the easy way, all in one method!
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the Ragu meat sauce:
500 gm. lean minced lamb or other meat
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1-2 small carrots, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1/4 cup red wine
400 gm. tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp. tomato purée
1 tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, a good sprinkle of
A handful of chopped basil leaves.
For Béchamel or white sauce
40 gm. or 3 tbsp. plain white flour (Maida)
500 ml. or 1/2 litre milk
A good pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mustard powder, like Coleman’s
A good sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg
For assembling the lasagne
A 3 inch deep, lasagne dish (a square, oven proof dish)
1 packet of Pasta sheets, 200 gm.
100 gm. fresh mushrooms, sliced
100 gm. 50/50 mix of Parmesan and mature cheddar cheese
A handful of jalapeño peppers
Instructions
Making Mince Ragu
Heat oil in a pan and sweat onions, garlic, carrots, celery until soft.
Add mince meat and brown it on high for a few minutes.
Add wine and cook until meat is looking dry again.
Add tomatoes, puree, salt, pepper, bring to boil. Now cover and cook on low heat for about an hour or so.
Add basil leaves. adjust seasoning. Keep it aside.
Making Bechamel Sauce
Mix all sauce ingredients in cold milk, bring it to boil stirring very frequently (to avoid lump formation) and simmer for a few minutes, until it is custard like consistency. Keep aside.
Assembling and Cooking Lasagna
Switch oven on to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
Grease an oven proof, square dish.
Spread 1/2 of the meat sauce on it?s base.
Cover with a layer of mushrooms.
Spread a layer of lasagne sheets on top.
Now repeat this; spread rest of the rest of the Ragu, then a layer of mushrooms, a few jalapeno peppers and then a layer of pasta sheets.
Cover with Bechamel sauce on top.
Sprinkle with the cheese mix and bake in a preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until it looks golden and bubbles.
Serve hot with a mixed salad and garlic bread.
